Portrait of an INFP: - Regis

Portrait of an INFP:
INFPs present a calm, pleasant face to the world and are seen as
reticent and even shy. Although they demonstrate a cool reserve toward
others, inside they are anything but distant. They have a capacity for
caring which is not always found in other types. They care deeplyindeed,
passionately-about a few special persons or a cause. One word
that captures this type is idealistic. At times, this characteristic
leaves them feeling isolated, especially since INFPs are found in only
1 percent of the general population.
INFPs have a profound sense of honor derived from internal values. The
INFP is the Prince or Princess of mythology, the King's Champion,
Defender of the Faith, and guardian of the castle. Sir Galahad and Joan
of Arc are male and female prototypes of an INFP. To understand INFPs
their cause must be understood, for they are willing to make unusual
sacrifices for someone or something believed in.
INFPs seek unity in their lives, unity of body and mind, emotions and
intellect. They often have a subtle tragic motif running through their
lives, but others seldom detect this inner minor key. The deep
commitment of INFPs to the positive and the good causes them to be
alert to the negative and the evil, which can take the form of a
fascination with the profane. Thus INFPs may live a paradox, drawn
toward purity and unity but looking over the shoulder toward the
sullied and desecrated. When INFPs believe that they have yielded to an
impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in
atonement. The atonement, however, is within the INFP, who does not
feel compelled to make public the issue.
INFPs prefer the valuing process over the purely logical. They respond
to the beautiful versus the ugly, the good versus the bad, and the
moral versus the immoral. Impressions are gained in a fluid, global,
diffused way. Metaphors and similes come naturally but may be strained.
INFPs have a gift for interpreting symbols, as well as creating them,
and thus often write in lyric fashion. They may demonstrate a tendency
to take deliberate liberties with logic. Unlike the NT, they see logic
as something optional. INFPs also may, at times, assume an unwarranted
familiarity with a domain, because their global, impressionistic way of
dealing with reality may have failed to register a sufficient number of
details for mastery. INFPs may have difficulty thinking in terms of a
conditional framework; they see things as either real or fancied, and
are impatient with the hypothetical.
At work, INFPs are adaptable, welcome new ideas and new information,
are well aware of people and their feelings, and relate well to most,
albeit with some psychological distance. INFPs dislike telephone
interruptions and work well alone, as well as with others. They are
patient with complicated situations, but impatient with routine
details. They can make errors of fact, but seldom of values. Their
career choices may be toward the ministry, missionary work, college
teaching, psychiatry, architecture, psychology-and away from business.
They seem willing and usually are able to apply themselves
scholastically to gain the necessary training for professional work,
often doing better in college than in high school. They have a natural
interest in scholarly activities and demonstrate, as do the other NFs,
a remarkable facility for languages. Often they hear a calling to go

forth into the world to help others; they seem willing to make the
necessary personal sacrifices involved in responding to that call, even
if it means asking others to do likewise. INFPs can make outstanding
novelists and character actors, for they are able to efface their own
personalities in their portrayal of a character in a way other types
cannot.
As mates, INFPs have a deep commitment to their pledges. They like to
live in harmony and may go to great lengths to avoid constant conflict.
They are sensitive to the feelings of others and enjoy pleasing those
they care for. They may find it difficult to reconcile a romantic,
idealized concept of conjugal life with the realities of everyday
living with another person. At times, in fact, INFPs may seem fearful
of exuberant attainment, afraid that current advances may have to be
paid for with later sacrifices. The devil is sure to get his due if the
INFP experiences too freely of success, or beauty, or health, or
wealth, or knowledge. And thus, INFPs guard against giving way to
relaxing in the happiness of mating. They may have difficulty in
expressing affection directly, but communicate interest and affection
indirectly.
For INFPs, their home is their castle. As parents, they are fierce in
protection of home and family and are devoted to the welfare of family
members. They have a strong capacity for devotion, sympathy, and
adaptability in their relationships, and thus are easy to live with.
They are loyal to their family and, although they may dream of greener
pastures, if they stray into those pastures they soon locate the
nettles. The almost preconscious conviction that pleasure must be paid
for with pain can cause a sense of uneasiness in the family system of
an INFP, who may transit an air of being ever-vigilant against
invasion. In the routine rituals of daily living, INFPs tend to be
compliant and may even prefer having decisions made on their behalfuntil
their value system is violated!
Then INFPs dig in their heels and will not budge from ideals. Life with
an INFP will go gently along for long periods, until an ideal is struck
and violated. Then an INFP will resist and insist.
At midlife INFPs may want to increase mastery of intellectual
interests, perhaps taking advanced degrees in a chosen profession. They
also may want to explore the sensual side of their natures, expanding
their aesthetic appreciations to include physical sensory
appreciations. Extending social activities and contacts may offer new
horizons for INFPs, but they will have to guard against overextension
psychologically, for before, during, and after midlife the
vulnerability and sensitivity of the INFP will continue, and he or she
can easily become emotionally drained.